Unit III: Building Materials

3.1 Read, study and try to memorize words and word combinations:

assemble	монтировать,составлять (собирать)
availability	наличие, полезность
concrete	бетон
reinforced concrete	армированный бетон
prestressed concrete	предварительно напряженный бетон
precast concrete	сборный железобетон; сборный бетон
decay	гнить, разлагаться, разрушаться, распадаться
durable	долговечный, крепкий
dwelling	жилище, жилое помещение
fabric	материал, ткань, материя
floor	пол
frame	основа, каркас, сооружение, скелет сооружения
hardness	стойкость
influence	влиять; влияние
insulate	изолировать
mortar	раствор
porosity	пористость
possess	располагать, владеть, обладать
proof	стойкий, непроницаемый
property	свойство
protect	защищать
range	ряд, область распространения, зона, круг, диапазон, предел
resist	сопротивляться, противодействовать
shape	форма
sound	звук; прочный, надежный
strength	сила, мощь, прочность, устойчивость
structural	строительный, структурный
substitute	заменять, замещать, подставлять
support	поддерживать
tightness	напряженность
workability	способность подвергаться обработке, технологичность
impact	влияние, воздействие
shelter	кров, убежище
recycle	повторно использовать, перерабатывать

3.2 Find synonyms. Match a with b.

A B

to crush	to complete
to realize	to differ
to vary	to collapse
to finish	to understand

3.3 Find antonyms. Match A with B.

A B

cheap	weakness
to require	to destroy
to start	to offer
advantage	fast
to construct	expensive
slow	disadvantage
hardness	to finish

3.4 Complete the table with the correct forms of the word. Translate Participle I and Participle II in each case.

noun	verb	Participle I/II
		resisting/resisted
insulation
	manufacture
	possess
support
	use
	protect	………/ protected

3.5 Read the text “Materials Used for Structural Purposes” and be ready to answer the questions below the text.

Materials Used for Structural Purposes

Materials to be used for structural purposes should meet several requirements depending upon their practical uses. In most cases it is important that they should be hard, durable, fire-resistant and easily fastened together. We determine whether a material is good for building purposes judging by its qualities. At all times it was important to know how the most commonly used materials – steel, stone, wood and brick – differed in hardness, durability and fire resistance.

Wood is the most ancient structural material. It is light, cheap and easy to work. But wood has certain disadvantages: it burns and decays.

Stone. Stone belongs to one of the oldest building materials used by man. Primitive stone structures were the earliest types of human dwellings. Stone has many properties owing to which it is widely used for building purposes. They are mechanical strength, compactness, porosity, sound and heat insulation and fire-resistance. Stone is widely used for foundations, walls and steps of buildings, for supports of piers and bridges, and for finishing and decorating all sorts of structures.

Brick. Bricks as a structural material were known many thousand years ago and are used as a substitute for other materials found in natural state. Bricks are hard and easily fastened together with the help of mortar, which makes them suitable for construction purposes. A brick building is strong, durable and weather resistant. It has, however, certain disadvantages. First, its foundation requires durability and takes up a much larger space than that of a wooden structure and is consequently more expensive. Second, the process of constructing a brick building is very slow and requires much skilled labour on the site. Such limitations of bricks led to the development of steel frame technique, which allows an easy assembly of structural parts and makes possible the use of new materials.

Steel. As structural material steel has come into general use with the development of industry, its manufacture requiring special equipment and skilled labour. Steel gas largely displaced wood and bricks as basic materials in construction. Its technique has combined the best principles of the older methods.

Concrete. Concrete is one of the most important materials. Concrete is a mixture of cement, sand and crushed stone, made into a paste with water. It forms a hard durable mass and is largely used for the foundations and walls of houses, and for structures under water.

Plastics combine all the fine characteristics of a building material with good insulating properties. That is why the architects and engineers have turned to them to add beauty to modern homes and offices.

1. What are the properties of the building materials?

2. What are the most commonly used building materials?

3. Do building materials differ from each other?

4. What is the most ancient building material?

5. Is concrete an artificial or natural building material?

6. When do the architects and engineers turn to plastics?